ALBANY, N.Y. – The St. John Fisher baseball team finished a three-game weekend series against Russell Sage with a doubleheader split on Sunday, winning the first game 2-1 before falling 8-3 in the second game.
The Cardinals, who took two of the three games in the series, moved to 19-15-1 overall and 14-6-1 in the Empire 8 Conference with the results. They secured a top-four seed for the upcoming Empire 8 Baseball Championship Tournament.
Game 1: St. John Fisher 2, Russell Sage 1
Junior Ethan Fulton had one of his best outings of the season, as he allowed one run on just four hits and two walks while striking out seven batters while pitching all seven innings. He earned his team-best sixth victory of the season.
The game marked the fifth this season in which Fulton recorded seven strikeouts or more.
Russell Sage took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but the Cardinals had a quick response in the next half inning. After freshman Ryan Vanderlip singled to start the frame, sophomore Jackson Frey drilled a two-run home run that proved to be the difference in the ballgame a few pitches later.
The Cardinals had five hits in the game, and senior Andrew Roman had two of them.
Game 2: Russell Sage 8, St. John Fisher 3
Frey hit his second two-run home run of the day, but Russell Sage scored four runs in the fourth inning and three in the seventh to avoid a three-game sweep with an 8-3 victory in the second game of the day.
After Russell Sage took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, junior Jake Crantz tied the game with a double to left field that scored junior Benjamin Huckans in the top of the second.
The Gators went ahead by four, 5-1, with their four-run fourth inning, but they didn't have that cushion for long. Vanderlip reached on a walk to start the fifth inning, once again setting the stage for Frey, who blasted his second two-run shot of the day to make it 5-3.
The Gators pushed across three runs in the seventh to go ahead by five, 8-3, and put the Cardinals away.
Up Next
The Cardinals face Alfred State at 4 p.m. on Wednesday at Dugan Yard.